AP PHOTOS: Skid Row, a battle of misery and hope

Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles has been home for thousands of homeless people, a tenuous comfort zone for many who hit the rock bottom of their lives in America.
The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel shipping out during World War II and the Vietnam War and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
It's also become a battleground where the poor fight merciless drug addiction and alcoholism.
On Skid Row they're offered a place to sleep, food, counseling and even spiritual support. Some win the battle and turn their miseries into testimonies. Others don't. It's not a rare scene on Skid Row to spot addicts doing drugs in the open even when police patrol the area.
Temptation lurks on every corner of the grid — but so do helping hands.
The fight continues today. The warm afternoon sunlight shines on those who sleep on the sidewalk.
Here's a gallery of images from Skid Row by photographer Jae C. Hong.

A woman casts a shadow on the shutters of a closed store with a "God Loves You" message written on it in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A man talks with a homeless woman in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Thursday, July 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Birds eat bread crumbs on an empty street of the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Thursday, July 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A drug addict prepares a needle to inject himself with heroin in front of a church in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Monday, May 6, 2013. It's not a rare scene on Skid Row to spot addicts using drugs in the open, even when police patrol the area. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

George Mendez, foreground, a 55-year-old recovering alcoholic, sits in front of a drunk woman in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel during World War II and the Vietnam conflict, and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Sonya Martinez, 38, who says she has been homeless for 10 years off-and-on, sits in San Julian Park while waiting for her husband in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. In the last week of January 2013, The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority counted 1,020 homeless people on the street and 2,443 in an emergency shelter or in transitional housing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A recovering drug addict walks past a sign during a narcotics anonymous meeting in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Homeless people attend a daily Bible study class at the Emmanuel Baptist Rescue Mission in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Thursday, July 18, 2013. The church doubles as a shelter for homeless men and the Bible study attendance is required in order to get a bed assignment. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

People form a line to get a free hotdog from a charity organization in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A homeless woman looks through a pile of trash for anything useful in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A woman rolls her luggage down the sidewalk in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Young volunteers from the Dream Center, a Christian church mission, look at homeless people from inside their bus in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Thursday, July 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Antonio Garcia, 54, left, who introduced himself as a mathematician, peeks through the opening of his makeshift shelter made of cardboard boxes in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A barefoot homeless woman sings and dances in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Torrance Moore, 46, right, prepares cardboard for bedding while setting up a tent on the sidewalk in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Friday, March 29, 2013. Homeless people are allowed to pitch their tents between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in this particular section. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Pastor Tony Stallworth, top center, a former homeless drug addict himself, leads a prayer session during a karaoke night at the Central City Community Church of the Nazarene in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Every Wednesday night the church is full of people from the neighborhood, where they sing, dance and laugh. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Margaret Warrick, a 55-year-old homeless woman, lies on a bench in the outdoor courtyard of the Midnight Mission in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Thursday, April 18, 2013. Warrick says she spends the night in the courtyard because it is safer than sleeping on the street by herself. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Shawn McGray, a 34-year-old homeless man, looks through a dumpster for anything useful in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Thursday, March 21, 2013. McGray said his goal is to save enough money to move into a small apartment with his girlfriend. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The late afternoon sunlight shines on a homeless man as he sleeps on the street in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jesse Raca, a 58-year-old homeless alcoholic, leans on the shutters of a closed store while trying to sleep in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Antoinette Theus, 45, who says she has been homeless for 30 years, drinks a can of soda in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Thursday, April 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A 25-year-old homeless drug addict prepares a needle to inject himself with heroin in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Thursday, April 25, 2013. It's not a rare scene on Skid Row to spot addicts using drugs in the open, even when police patrol the area. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Trina Bohannan, a former homeless drug addict who now lives in a low-income apartment, sings along a song while ushering at a karaoke night at the Central City Community Church of the Nazarene in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, May 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Wearing a Barbie backpack, a homeless woman pushes a shopping cart full of her belongings in the middle of the street in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Pastor Emmanuel Okoli, standing next to a cross, gives a sermon to homeless people at Outreach Mission Center as a man, right, urinates in an alley in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel during World War II and the Vietnam conflict, and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A homeless man sleeps in the outdoor courtyard of the Midnight Mission in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Thursday, April 18, 2013. The outdoor courtyard is open to homeless people to provide safety at night. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A homeless man holds a torn piece of paper showing a painting of the Buddha in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A homeless man pushes a shopping cart full of his belongings across an intersection in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Friday, March 29, 2013. The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel during World War II and the Vietnam conflict, and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A homeless woman eats a piece of fruit as two homeless men cast shadows on the wall in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Thursday, March 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Cesar Solozano, 60, left, a former homeless man and a recovering drug and alcohol addict, laughs while waiting to cross the street in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Tricia Warren, 60, who has been homeless for three weeks due to financial problems, sings a song during a karaoke night for homeless people at the Central City Community Church of the Nazarene in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Every Wednesday night the church is full of people from the neighborhood where they sing, dance and laugh. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)